1
|
Brown L, Zedrosser A, Kindberg J, Pelletier F. Behavioural responses of brown bears to roads and hunting disturbance. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11532. [PMID: 38882533 PMCID: PMC11176727 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Harvest regulations commonly attenuate the consequences of hunting on specific segments of a population. However, regulations may not protect individuals from non-lethal effects of hunting and their consequences remain poorly understood. In this study, we compared the movement rates of Scandinavian brown bears (Ursus arctos, n = 47) across spatiotemporal variations in risk in relation to the onset of bear hunting. We tested two alternative hypotheses based on whether behavioural responses to hunting involve hiding or escaping. If bears try to reduce risk exposure by avoiding being detected by hunters, we expect individuals from all demographic groups to reduce their movement rate during the hunting season. On the other hand, if bears avoid hunters by escaping, we expect them to increase their movement rate in order to leave high-risk areas faster. We found an increased movement rate in females accompanied by dependent offspring during the morning hours of the bear hunting season, a general decrease in movement rate in adult lone females, and no changes in males and subadult females. The increased movement rate that we observed in females with dependant offspring during the hunting season was likely an antipredator response because it only occurred in areas located closer to roads, whereas the decreased movement rate in lone females could be either part of seasonal activity patterns or be associated with an increased selection for better concealment. Our study suggests that female brown bears accompanied by offspring likely move faster in high-risk areas to minimize risk exposure as well as the costly trade-offs (i.e. time spent foraging vs. time spent hiding) typically associated with anti-predator tactics that involve changes in resource selection. Our study also highlights the importance of modelling fine-scale spatiotemporal variations in risk to adequately capture the complexity in behavioural responses caused by human activities in wildlife.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ludovick Brown
- Département de Biologie Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Canada
| | - Andreas Zedrosser
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health University of South-Eastern Norway Bø in Telemark Norway
- Institute for Wildlife Biology and Game Management University for Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Jonas Kindberg
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Umeå Sweden
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de Biologie Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Brown L, Zedrosser A, Arnemo JM, Fuchs B, Kindberg J, Pelletier F. Landscape of fear or landscape of food? Moose hunting triggers an antipredator response in brown bears. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2840. [PMID: 36912774 PMCID: PMC10909462 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Hunters can affect the behavior of wildlife by inducing a landscape of fear, selecting individuals with specific traits, or altering resource availability across the landscape. Most research investigating the influence of hunting on wildlife resource selection has focused on target species and less attention has been devoted to nontarget species, such as scavengers that can be both attracted or repelled by hunting activities. We used resource selection functions to identify areas where hunters were most likely to kill moose (Alces alces) in south-central Sweden during the fall. Then, we used step-selection functions to determine whether female brown bears (Ursus arctos) selected or avoided these areas and specific resources during the moose hunting season. We found that, during both day and nighttime, female brown bears avoided areas where hunters were more likely to kill moose. We found evidence that resource selection by brown bears varied substantially during the fall and that some behavioral changes were consistent with disturbance associated with moose hunters. Brown bears were more likely to select concealed locations in young (i.e., regenerating) and coniferous forests and areas further away from roads during the moose hunting season. Our results suggest that brown bears react to both spatial and temporal variations in apparent risk during the fall: moose hunters create a landscape of fear and trigger an antipredator response in a large carnivore even if bears are not specifically targeted during the moose hunting season. Such antipredator responses might lead to indirect habitat loss and lower foraging efficiency and the resulting consequences should be considered when planning hunting seasons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ludovick Brown
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeCanada
| | - Andreas Zedrosser
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental HealthUniversity of South‐Eastern NorwayBø in TelemarkNorway
- Institute for Wildlife Biology and Game ManagementUniversity for Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | - Jon M. Arnemo
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesKoppangNorway
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
| | - Boris Fuchs
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesKoppangNorway
| | - Jonas Kindberg
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental StudiesSwedish University of Agricultural SciencesUmeåSweden
- Norwegian Institute for Nature ResearchTrondheimNorway
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeCanada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ausilio G, Wikenros C, Sand H, Wabakken P, Eriksen A, Zimmermann B. Environmental and anthropogenic features mediate risk from human hunters and wolves for moose. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- G. Ausilio
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang Norway
| | - C. Wikenros
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Riddarhyttan Sweden
| | - H. Sand
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Riddarhyttan Sweden
| | - P. Wabakken
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang Norway
| | - A. Eriksen
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang Norway
| | - B. Zimmermann
- Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Koppang Norway
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Weterings MJ, Meister N, Fey K, Jansen PA, van Langevelde F, Kuipers HJ. Context-dependent responses of naïve ungulates to wolf-sound playback in a human-dominated landscape. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
|
5
|
Richmond IC, Balluffi-Fry J, Vander Wal E, Leroux SJ, Rizzuto M, Heckford TR, Kennah JL, Riefesel GR, Wiersma YF. Individual snowshoe hares manage risk differently: integrating stoichiometric distribution models and foraging ecology. J Mammal 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Herbivores making space use decisions must consider the trade-off between perceived predation risk and forage quality. Herbivores, specifically snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), must constantly navigate landscapes that vary in predation risk and food quality, providing researchers with the opportunity to explore the factors that govern their foraging decisions. Herein, we tested predictions that intersect the risk allocation hypothesis (RAH) and optimal foraging theory (OFT) in a spatially explicit ecological stoichiometry framework to assess the trade-off between predation risk and forage quality. We used individual and population estimates of snowshoe hare (n = 29) space use derived from biotelemetry across three summers. We evaluated resource forage quality for lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), a common and readily available forage species within our system, using carbon:nitrogen and carbon:phosphorus ratios. We used habitat complexity to proxy perceived predation risk. We analyzed how forage quality of blueberry, perceived predation risk, and their interaction impact the intensity of herbivore space use. We used generalized mixed effects models, structured to enable us to make inferences at the population and individual home range level. We did not find support for RAH and OFT. However, variation in the individual-level reactions norms in our models showed that individual hares have unique responses to forage quality and perceived predation risk. Our finding of individual-level responses indicates that there is fine-scale decision-making by hares, although we did not identify the mechanism. Our approach illustrates spatially explicit empirical support for individual behavioral responses to the food quality–predation risk trade-off.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isabella C Richmond
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Juliana Balluffi-Fry
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Eric Vander Wal
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Shawn J Leroux
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Matteo Rizzuto
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Travis R Heckford
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Joanie L Kennah
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Gabrielle R Riefesel
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| | - Yolanda F Wiersma
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
| |
Collapse
|